Something Else
by blowersgate
Summary: Sum   Is fate reuniting them, or is it something else? Warning: H/C/OC but 100% huddy. Trust me on this. Another season 8-ish but years later. Other warning: this fic is not for everyone. I have negative reviews to prove it.
1. Chapter 1

**New Story. I hope you will like it. If you've read my other stories, you know it should end well. This one is supposed to be light-hearted and yet quite sad, with lots of drama. The events of season 7 did happen. Take this story as my own eighth season of House except in the form of a fanfic, centered on the characters rather than the medicine, so don't expect medical cases in this one. Maybe one, two at most and even I'm not sure I want to write any at this point. This is a House/Cuddy story, one that is supposed to give closure to the pairing in a way that can work with what happened in "Moving On" last season. So, please, enjoy. I work a lot (MA year) but I'll try to update this story, unlike my other unfinished stories.**

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><p>Love… A minced oath to whisper you hate someone a little bit less. And she hated the entire world at this very moment. Hate! A strong oath to scream you love someone more than the rest of mankind. He'd rather burn up in flames, burning her twig heart all the same.<p>

Two years prior to his incarceration, House had hallucinations. An enhanced perception of reality was all it took to label him crazy –and the godsend ability to see dead people. The time he spent as a recovering addict, a man in love and a destructive force of nature did not count because, for driving his car into his ex-girlfriend's dining room, Gregory House gave a judge enough grounds to rule in favor of the defendant. Where were the ghosts when he needed them the most? The certified crazy junkie made his way through jail, not necessarily rehabilitating himself but gradually coming to terms with the reasons behind his every action. Decades of puzzles, games and obnoxiousness led him to this day. The day the answer to his misery came to light in a desperate turn of the steering wheel. The provoked accident as a solved puzzle he did not expect; the thrill was self-explanatory for it had allowed him to screen off his fear. As part of a game a child would play, nearly killing his ex-girlfriend, sister and friends had a nice ring to it. But the walls of his soul tumbled down unlike a child's who would have driven a toy truck into a house of cards.

They say boys don't cry. Little boys do when they destroy their favorite toys. House destroyed his on that summer day several years ago. They say you only remember sad memories and the happy ones just fly by. Happiness… An emotion House had so scarcely experienced until providence handed him the case of his life. Some night, at some conference in New Orleans (as he puts it these days), a horrible act of violence presented itself to vicodin-induced Dr. House. It was real. A woman he had recognized from his college years was being beaten to death in the parking lot. His so-called genius was long gone but the rest of his being had him on the spot within seconds. According to the affidavit of probable cause, House grabbed the man by the arm and knocked him out with several punches in the face. Right from the start, Caroline and Gregory both knew their story was no fairytale. Yet, they had been building a life for themselves for six months now, had moved in together and had been living happily. He was home, addicted to love and couldn't get enough of it.

House would nevertheless keep reminding himself that life has a weird way of getting back at someone. And he dreaded the day he would have to face his final reality.

"Whose wedding did you say it was?" House asked holding a laundry basket.

"Emily and Jeremy's, I've told you about them before, haven't I? They're friends from Johns Hopkins." Caroline said and grabbed her car keys from the kitchen countertop.

"Nope. Then again I don't remember anything before last night." He waggled his eyebrows at her.

"Not listening!" She quickened her pace and went for the door.

"Come on! You know you loved it!" He quirked but then shrugged, "Well, of course you would, I'm better than every single world-renowned OBGYN."

"Don't worry! None of your smear tests make me regret what specialty you chose in med school." He smirked, her repartee never ceased to improve. She opened the front door and added, "So, you're sure you don't mind me inviting my friends over for the week?"

"Yes I do mind. However, we do have plenty of space here and I've always wanted to hold a gang-bang party."

"Please, don't hold that thought?" She said, smiling, "See you tonight, love you" and closed the door.

"Love you too." He said and opened the door to the utility-slash-gaming room.

Two days later, House received a phone call around noon, interrupting his new favorite vampire-opera series _The Vampire Diaries_. The only daytime rerun of the year that could remind him of why he was rooting for Damon and Elena to get together; the TV industry would always make it a goal to delay true love.

"Unless you are a tv-exec and wish to spoil me on the next three episodes of the show, I will hang up the phone in one, two…" House finished, relatively slow.

A man at the other end stopped the countdown, "Hi, you must be Jonathan, sorry to disturb you. Caroline said you'd be there."

"Jonathan…" House pondered, quickly dismissing this name confusion for the man kept talking.

"I'm David. Just wanted to let you know you should expect Lizzy and I to arrive this afternoon and-"

House cut him off, "Yes, Caroline gave me instructions and I might not be around so I'll leave the key under the doormat."

"Thanks, so we'll see-"David's last words never came through _for the Vampire Diaries_ had Elena and Damon in a compromising situation.

David knocked on the door for about a minute until another hand pulled his away.

"Caroline said we could use the key. Her boyfriend is obviously gone like he said he would be." She paused, "So, let's grab the key and enjoy the warmth and comfort of a home."

David nodded for the December weather was freezing his jawline, rendering him speechless, save for the noise made by his clattering teeth.

They dropped their bags on the floor, closed the front door, hung their respective coats on the hall stand and made their way into the living room.

"I'm going to take a quick shower, do you mind taking the rest of my luggage upstairs?" She said tying her hair up in a loose bun.

"In a sec, let me enjoy the couch for a minute. That four-hour drive cost me." David replied like he was about to pass out. As she went up the stairs, he noticed a still-life painting and remembered he had left the flowers for Caroline in the car. "Damn." He murmured. At least his Lizzy would be able to relax under the warm shower spray.

In a matter of minutes, she had grabbed the necessary accessories: her toothbrush and toothpaste, her favorite soap and a towel. She opened the bathroom door and left her things on the toilet lid and dismissed the footsteps she heard as her own. She turned the radio on and gave herself one quick look in the mirror before she undressed. The remnants of steam rising thick did not go by unnoticed and she thought of telling Caroline that they should have their ventilation system checked. She picked up her towel from the lid of the toilet seat and started to hum. As she was about to unfold her towel, the shower curtain was drawn open at one stroke by non-other than the man she never wanted to see again in her lifetime, Gregory House.

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><p>The more you rate and review, the more I'll write. That's the way it works and you know it. And probably hate it, but sometimes, you're just happy to this website allows feedback, don't you? ;)<p> 


	2. Chapter 2

I'm so sorry guys for not updating any sooner, I thought I had lost my House modjo but I've read a couple of new House/Cuddy fics and I thought about the few people who reviewed the first chapter for this story and decided it was awful to let people down in times like these. Besides, I know my story is going to be awesome even though it's not the best written fic out there. It's just, well, I have a story to tell and I will tell it. Might take me some time but I really want to do this.

**This chapter hinges on psychological drama and I love it. I hope you will too. So please, review. I know it's short, but if I get sufficient reviews, I will work on the next chapter tomorrow and so upload it within the scope of 24-48 hours.**

To the reviewer who thinks I'm a biased House apologist and that I'm being cruel to Cuddy, I want to say something. House went to jail in my fic. Jail, I believe, changes you quite a lot but that does not work, right? Because people don't change, do they? This is just a story damnit, take it or leave it, but House always has a reason for acting the way he does in my fics. This time it's something I don't think has been explored in other fics. I'm not saying it's better and I'm not saying that it's an easy story to read considering what happened on the show. I don't describe emotions much in the narration specifically because I want the characters to reveal themselves to the reader gradually. Maybe that's sick, maybe you're right but I'd rather read a fic in which House appears to be more brutal at first (although he never actually hurts Cuddy but whatever, my writing's just unintelligible), than have to read another child abuse or rape story. And with that I rest my peace.

Edit: I changed a sentence that indeed must seem as though House's strong grip IS hurting her, although nowhere do I state that it left bruises. Take it as you want.

**LAST WARNING: ** NEVER IN THIS CHAPTER DOES HOUSE HURT CUDDY PHYSICALLY. Her struggle is the problem and no, I don't hate Cuddy. She is probably my favorite character ever.

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><p>Cuddy shouted for her life and House followed closely, hiding his nakedness with the bit of curtain he could find. Cuddy eventually stormed out of the bathroom and covered herself with the towel she still had in her hands.<p>

She ran down the stairs and saw David rush back inside the house. "What is it? What happened?" He asked.

"He… He… I don't understand…" Out of breath and still utterly bewildered, she lost all coherence.

"Calm down, Honey." David said sweetly, meeting her halfway in the living room. He put his hands on her shoulders and diverted his attention to the man at the top of the stairs barely wearing a pair of unbuttoned jeans, "What the fuck is going on? Who the hell are you?" He kept eyeing both the man and Cuddy. The latter was in complete shock and had lost all capacity for speech.

House looked down upon the man and in turn asked, "Who the hell are YOU?" Thinking terribly of the fact that his past associations with the woman in the room were corrupting his priorities, he rectified the tone of his voice and as if nothing seemed suspicious, continued, "This is MY house."

"Oh! You must be Jonathan!" He said, still stroking Cuddy's shoulders not only out of fear she would get cold but also because he realized her screams must have really been uncalled for. He did not want what he assumed was a simple misunderstanding in the bathroom to ruin the entire week.

Coming out of her reverie, the walls of incomprehension that had built inside Cuddy's head in a matter of minutes tumbled down. "Jonathan? Jonathan!" She slowly came to shout, giving the death glare to David. "His name's House! Gregory House!"

"What do you mean, Lizzy, is he… you know –"

"Lisa, her name's Lisa." House cut him off, shaking his head and then sighed. By that time, Cuddy had given David the nod that certified that this man was indeed the man who had driven a car through her front door.

"I know what her name is you asshole!" David said angrily. As he detached himself from the woman in his arms, House considered the odds of getting into a fist fight with the man who was at this very moment hiking up his sleeves. "David, please… don't." Cuddy begged until his strength outdid her own and she couldn't get a hold of him. As she turned around, she could not avert her eyes anymore and her gaze settled on House.

"Hey man, what are you doing?" House asked, gripping the banister tight. Cuddy's blank stare gave him the chills. He would not grant her the satisfaction of asking for some help, yet the idea had crossed his mind. She seemed completely lost.

"Giving you the correction you deserve for hurting Lisa the way you did." David said walking towards the stairs. House instantly noticed the fury, crystal clear in his dark eyes.

The sound of a door being opened stopped David on his tracks. "Greg, I'm home." Caroline said. "Gre…?" Before she could finish saying his name, she gasped at the scene before her; from her boyfriend at the top of the stairs, her friend's boyfriend David adjusting his clenched fists, to said friend Lisa Cuddy whose stare revealed incomprehension or rather a complete refusal of hearing what her favorite girlfriend had to say in her defense.

"Oh my God…" Caroline tried to say. Dropping her bags of food on the floor, she added, "Lisa, I'm so sorry, I didn't wish for it to happen like this."

Connecting the dots, feeling all the more vulnerable wearing practically nothing, Cuddy marched onto her friend, "You mean… HE is Jonathan?" She paused, inches from Caroline's pleading face, "HOUSE is THE MAN YOU'VE FALLEN IN LOVE WITH?"

Caroline could only nod, feeling as if the weight of the world had broken every bone in her body.

"The same man who almost killed me and my family. This pathetic excuse of a man. This… MY HOUSE." As her series of statements ended, Cuddy inhaled sharply, not giving her friend the satisfaction of seeing tears coming out of her bloodshot eyes, and simply said, "Say it."

"Yes." She had no time to think about what she would say next for Cuddy slapped her in the face.

"For fuck's sake!" House spoke up. David rushed in to stop House from approaching the women as the latter came down the stairs. "You stay out of it." House threatened. David discarded House's warning but his fists of triumph having become loose, House quickly punched him in the face, almost knocking him out in the process.

Cuddy turned around and saw House approaching her fast, "You ever raise your hand on her again and…" He began.

"Or what, House? You'll hand me a brush again?" She said with every ounce of bitterness she had no need to muster. "Or better yet, I keep trying to get answers on this nonsensical situation from her and THEN, I'll give you back something of yours. How's that?"

House noticed Caroline was on the verge of crying. "Enough!" She pleaded. House rushed to her side, preventing her from losing her balance.

"You don't get to tell me anything!" Cuddy practically spat in his face, "You son of a bitch."

"Of course I don't! But you don't even want to hear what she has to say!" He retorted, holding Caroline in his arms, "Are you okay?" She nodded yes and he led her to the couch.

"Fuck you…. Both of YOU." Cuddy screamed as she watched the man she used to love help her best friend sit. House realized how defenseless against her emotions Cuddy seemed. No matter how many times he would have to go to jail for it, he would stop this woman from ruining his life at all costs.

"You leave me no choice for when the lady says 'Enough' it means that enough is ENOUGH!" House said, not giving Cuddy time to fight him off, he grabbed her by the legs and carried her off over his shoulders.

"Let me go!" She said, hitting him hard on his back. Everything about this moment was hurtful. But no matter how much his leg hurt at that moment, he had set his mind on getting her to calm down and abort this frantic state. He slowly walked up the stairs. "You bastard." She kept crying and crying, "I hate you…. I hate you… so much." Kicking and screaming all the way up to the bathroom, Cuddy inevitably lost her towel. They could care less about her flagrant nakedness for, at that very moment, one of them could only visualize despair and the other was functioning on autopilot.

As they reached the bathroom, House laid Cuddy down in the bathtub and sat on the edge of it. With one hand, House held a strong grip on her chest to prevent her from getting out of the tub and reached for the shower spray with the other. He turned the faucet on and directed the cold spray above her head. Cuddy struggled under the spray for what seemed like an hour to House. He had a hard time looking at her hurting herself but as she lay there, completely out of control, there was only so much he could do to prevent her from bruising herself. Each breath became harder to overcome for Cuddy and eventually, her gaze never leaving House's face, the space between them lengthened. House could only look at his hand on her chest. As he felt the rhythm of her heartbeat slow down under his palm, he gradually stopped averting his eyes from hers. Blue eyes met watery grey ones, trying to reach a silent understanding. For the first in the entire time she has known the man, Cuddy saw different eyes. She could not comprehend it. It was devoid of all the emotions he could have born in the past. It was something else. House could only acknowledge her inquiring look and total incomprehension with silence and a feather light touch of his fingers. As he trusted she would not try to escape the tub anymore, he moved his hand from her chest and placed it on the hot water faucet. He turned the faucet on and she welcomed the warmth of the spray by closing her eyes and heaving a sigh. House turned away from her, leaned on his elbows and passed a hand through his hair.

A few minutes later, Cuddy's words broke the oblivion the two were stuck into.

"Are you real?" She asked. House did not miss how shaky her voice was.

"Are you?" He said, questioning both their judgment.

Another moment passed and Cuddy tried to adjust her upper body to touch House. Any part of him would do and she did not want to understand the reasons behind this sudden impulse. She needed to, plain and simple. She went for House's backbone. Her strange behavior was put to a halt before it could even begin for House could see her reflection on the opposite wall. With her hand still held up in the air, she saw the mirror and heard him say in a flat voice, "You don't want to do that." Their eyes met in the mirror and House spoke again, "When you're ready, go apologize to Caroline. I don't know why she did not tell you about me. I don't know why she didn't tell me about you and her. I don't know anything. But she does not deserve to be hurt, not ever again. Our history has nothing to do with her, okay? You may report what just happened to the police if you want, call your lawyer, do whatever the hell you want, I don't care about me. I only care about her."

And with that he left without gracing her with a last glance.


	3. Chapter 3

**Edit: Didn't save my author's note**, anyway it's probably for the best. I'd like to thank all the people who sent reviews, encouraging me. Thank you for giving this fic a chance. Please keep doing this, it's working for here's a longer chapter (less than 25 hours later, A RECORD)

** Warning:** language / reference to antisemitism. Just House being House but I'm being careful, I don't want people to start accusing me of being something I'm not. It is not my intention.

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><p>- Chapter 3 -<p>

House closed the door behind him and spotted Caroline in the hallway, massaging her temple. He walked by her as if nothing had happened.

Her soft voice made him stop, "What did you do to her?" She asked, having only ever seen her boyfriend in this state once. He turned around and averted her gaze.

"Did you… did you hurt her?" She asked, not believing her words. Lisa's screams had been so intense she couldn't help but fear the worst.

House met her eyes upon hearing the verb she had used. "What? No! I would never… No." He emphasized the second 'no' seeing her incapable of maintaining her composure. "It's complicated. I just wanted her to… I don't know what I wanted. She's fine now." She released the breath she had been holding as he kept trying to explain –or rather understand – himself. To House's reassurance, she seemed not so much relieved but happy. House was no brute.

"I gave her a cold shower. She struggled a bit but –"He continued but she cut him off.

"YOU GAVE HER WHAT?" She yelled instantly.

"Forget it." He said, going for the stairs again.

"Are you fucking insane? She was just mad, not trying to rape me!" She added, angrily.

He stopped dead on his tracks and whispered, "You don't know her the way I do."

"I don't care, Greg! That does not give you the right to do such a thing!"

House had no passion for confrontations anymore but her accusations fueled what seemed like the last straw. He limped towards her and said in a stern voice, "There are things about her you don't know. But I do. Like how she could hunger for a single touch because she needed to know I was there. How she would take me in her arms and lift my load when I doubted the possibility of ever being happy and acted like a jerk instead of building something…. How the freaking cold baths she would run for herself did, not only give her a fucking cold on occasion but allowed her a certain peace of mind. It's something she's been doing ever since she was a kid… because of her mother."

She could practically see the tears he would not cry. She tried, apologetically, to say "Greg… I'm-"

And for he would not have it yet, he finished the battle between the two most important organs in his body. "So trust me when I say she's probably subconsciously happy I did what I did. She'll probably call her lawyer but that will just give me the confirmation that she has never given a damn about me." The memories he had never spoken off to anyone had triggered the irrational dichotomy of the body and soul. His heart and his brains simply never got along.

"Don't say that, you must know she never…–"She did not have the time to see through her sentence for he changed the subject.

"Where's the boyfriend?"

She sighed but thought it may have been for the best. "He didn't move a limb… passed out at the bottom of the stairs, thanks to you. I didn't try to wake him up, giving the situation. Better have him try to kill you after I talk to Lisa." She replied, arching her eyebrow.

"Come on, I didn't punch him that hard!" He said with a smirk. Caroline realized he seemed to be better already.

"You did my knight in shining armor. You did." She said and put her arms around his waist.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

"Greg… I'm not the one who deserves to be okay. You know I am. But she deserves to be okay too." She paused, seeing the pupil in his eyes growing more dilated at the mention of Lisa.

"It's just..." He tried to keep his emotions at bay.

"What?" She whispered, caressing his cheek.

"I never want to see you so close to being ashamed and submissive like you were today when she asked you to 'say it'… about us. I'm not saying it's the same thing… It just reminded me of… I mean, I was there…"

"_There_ is gone!" She cut him off. "Where's here now, that's what matters."

"I may have been high on vicodin that night but I heard everything… in between whispered threats, he forced you to say you enjoyed every moment of it!" He paused and tilted his head back, trying to hold back everything inside him. "And it wasn't until you screamed for your life that I realized he was hurting you. It was awful… You had no choice but to arouse his filthy needs or else he would have raped you to death."

"I had no idea… you knew… oh God." She swallowed her tears and reconsidered the conversation in a new light for both their sake. "But, I'm fine now. I really am. Lisa's not a freaking recidivist rapist, you know that, right?" She said, smiling a bit at the image.

"Come to think of it… there was this one time in a public place…" He said, exaggerating humorously.

"Good thing you did time instead of her!" She retorted.

"Touché…I kinda did over-react, didn't I?"

She nodded. "But somehow… I knew you were the only one who could do something about the whole thing. No matter how awful it felt to both witness downstairs and imagine while you two were upstairs." She concluded while he eyed, intrigued. "I have to go check on Lisa now. I need to explain myself to her at least." She said, cutting his expectations short.

"And me." He added, bluntly.

"What?"

"You need to talk to me too." He pondered, licking his lips, "I mean, why didn't you tell me you guys were still friends?"

"Long story short, I felt I couldn't keep hiding you from her anymore. She's my oldest friend and ever since she left Princeton…" She paused, seeing that he was looking her in the eyes intensely. "We've began to see each other more." Caroline assessed everything about him and came to the conclusion that a million questions must have gone through his head. "You asked me if I'm okay. I have to confess that I'd be more okay if you and Lisa could at least pretend to get along. Ultimately, I want her to feel okay about you and I being an item." Caroline stopped her tirade and asked, "What's on your mind?"

"Having Cuddy and I, I mean, 'Jonathan' meet in our bathroom was probably not the best way to go at it for starters." He shrugged. She seemed happier by then, he did not want to ruin it.

"I know… I know… It all went wrong. I'm sorry about it all. I was supposed to be there when they arrived. If you knew anything about Karma, you'd know it's not working in our favor so far."

"Hmm… Off the top of my head, Karma is a Kama Sutra position, right?" He let out and she laughed.

Gently, her laugher switched to passionate reasoning, softening her words, "I want to build a life with you but I don't want to lose her."

House said nothing. Caroline heard a small noise coming from the bathroom doorknob.

"I better go check on mister secondary character downstairs." He finally said, moving out of the hallway.

She turned around and saw a fully clothed Lisa Cuddy on the verge of bawling her eyes out.

"Carry… I had… I'm so sorry…" Lisa started.

"You heard it all?" Caroline asked, knowing the answer already.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Lisa cried.

"Lisa…. Aw honey…" She went to hug her friend who returned it in a heartbeat and buried her face in the crook of her head. "See this is exactly why I didn't want to tell you." She said, on the verge of crying again as well. "Although I hope it's a bit worse than to learn Greg House isn't dead and gone."

Cuddy's muffled laugh soothed the both of them some more. "Just a bit." She quipped. Caroline decided to keep the double-entendre as a means to reconcile with her – she realized – best friend.

"Should I go grab my guns in the fridge?"

"No, I'll retaliate later." Cuddy replied, effectively accepting the terms of this subtle reconciliation.

"Okay. Should I tell him to flee the state?"

Cuddy shook her head, mumbling no.

"If you don't want to stay here, I understand. I'll pay for the hotel… everything you need."

"Won't be necessary."

"Why?"

"Can we just leave it at that for now?"

"Of course." Caroline said. Never breaking their embrace, they remained silent for a while.

"Now isn't the time to ask for details, I understand. And, if you wish to tell me... of course … I hope you… in your own time..."Cuddy began.

"I want to and I will tell you what happened." She finished Cuddy's sentence for her.

"But I need to know something…. Because I want to go to Em's second and hopefully last bachelorette party real bad." She smiled.

"Duh… okay, shoot!" She replied. She knew this would have to do with House and subsequently, the forced living arrangements. However the good cause Cuddy had put forth suppressed all adjacent fears for the time being.

"Did… did House save you from that guy?" Cuddy said, her voice caught between the deepest sea and the stormiest weather.

The trouble in her friend's voice told Caroline that acknowledging both of their difficult positions was the proper escape to this mess. Very sternly, she disentangled herself from Cuddy and proceeded, "House drove his car into your living room. He could have killed you…" Cuddy held her breath but Caroline kept talking, "… could have killed Rachel… your sister, her husband and that other guy you told me about." She paused, thinking things through, "No one can declare tabula rasa over such a crime, if the victims did, it would be an insult to the penal system. If the criminal had no conscious he would definitely vouch for a clean slate. You used to know him as a fucked up, yet good guy." Cuddy shivered at the words she had used but did not interrupt her friend. "I'm only using your own words here; you've told me this before, remember?"

"I do." Cuddy admitted.

"You know from our conversation that he saved me from that… that… monster of a man. But it's something else you want. Some sort of answer… I can't give it to you; I will never know everything there is to know about him. But what I can tell you is that the man who came to my rescue that night was a barely-out-of-jail damaged for good drug addict I once knew in college." Caroline was losing her trail of thoughts. Her tears were giving her away. Cuddy wanted nothing but to run away, her words however betrayed the feeling –annihilating it on the spot, "Don't stop, Carry."

Caroline couldn't believe the other woman had decided to share such a burden, this combination of hatred and admiration for the man who didn't know anything about going backwards or forward. "Whatever he does, he always hurts himself in the process, Lisa. I am not defending him, I just… I just know that even saving me from that man hurt him." It did not go by unnoticed that she wished her statement could apply to Cuddy as well.

Cuddy closed her eyes and inhaled in one single breath all the borderline insulting proclamations that would have shown her friend the error of her ways and likely destroyed their friendship forever. "I am having a hard time with this but I'm sure you can tell. However, because of this awful turn of events you brought a plus one with you. House's presence is real; it was not just the most terrifying memory that stood before me in your bathroom, it was the man whom I've loved all my life and never thought would hurt me to the point of no return that drew the curtain."

"Lisa… I…" Caroline tried to say but signaled her to stop. By the time her tears had dried on her cheeks, Cuddy continued, "I've always been there for him. Was he ever there for me, I don't really know anymore. Tricks of the mind and games don't count as saving someone, do they? I guess it's too bad he wasn't there to save me when his other persona drove his insanity into my house. But… he came to your rescue. He saved my friend and for that I'm… I can't say grateful it was him but I am relieved he did."

Caroline practically jumped onto her friend and hugged her tightly. Lisa Cuddy stared at the bathroom across the hallway and remembered his hand covering the area to her heart, his warm palm against her cold body, keeping her at arm's length. And because of everything he did behind this bathroom door, she knew he loved her still.

"You haven't seen him since the trial, have you?" Caroline asked.

"I never went to the trial. My lawyer represented me. Sorry, I lied."

"Don't care." Caroline let out, hugging her friend as tightly as she could.

And Cuddy hurt precisely because she knew him so well. She tried closing her eyes. It was of no avail.

"Lizzy!" They both heard.

"Oh my God, David." Cuddy said.

"Forgot about your boy toy, _Lizzy_?" Caroline snapped.

"Shut up!" She rolled her eyes and moved down the stairs. Caroline followed her down to the living room.

The two men were seated on the couch. It seemed as though David had just woken up. He got off the couch and said "Baby, are you alright?"

"She's fine…" House said.

Cuddy dismissed his comment and hugged her boyfriend, "Don't worry David. Everything's good."

"But he's…" David tried.

"An ex-convict who drove a car into your girlfriend's house, we know, thanks." House couldn't keep it shut.

"I will give my friend the satisfaction of seeing me rejoice over the two years you spent in jail during which you had to bend over for the soap in a minute." Cuddy retorted and continued with less humor, "but if you don't want David to run to the cops, I suggest you shut it."

"You know what they say about jews…" House began.

"Hey! I won't stop him, House." Cuddy verbally cornered him.

"Then don't!" House stood up, smugly gave a Nazi salute and left the living room for the kitchen, "I'll be in the kitchen, cooking dinner."

"Who the fuck is this guy?" David practically yelled. The anti-Semitic symbol clearly had the desired effect but neither Cuddy nor Caroline had the will to explain the concept that is Gregory House. "Give me your phone, Lizzy."

"No, David. You're not calling anyone. The House topic is off-limits to you. I'm here for my friend, that's all you need to know." She said, strictly, "And don't take him too seriously. Let's just be civil." Cuddy added, nodding at Caroline who mouthed a 'thank you' in return.


	4. Chapter 4

Author's note: I've uploaded quite a lot in one week! There won't be anymore uploads for a couple of days cause I have tons of uni homework to do. If you review loads, I may speed things up.

I want to thank those who reviewed the last chapter. And those who defended the fic. :) I hope you'll like this installment and that you'll...well, I'm not going to spoil it.

SO PLEASE. I BEG YOU. Keep on reviewing. This is what keeps me writing. There is a light at the end of the tunnel. It's House and Cuddy, folks! They've always been made for each other. ;)

- Chapter 4 -

"Fine." David said as he went to pick their luggage. "But Caroline, and you Lizzy, I have to warn you. Don't expect me to like the guy." He said, heading up the stairs.

"Alright David, let's go see… your room!" Caroline said, pointing her thumb at the man and whispering a very disdainful "He's the guy, seriously?" to Cuddy.

Cuddy rolled her eyes "I can still change my mind about YOURS, you know!" She said a little harsher than she had intended to.

"Fine! I'll keep my trap shut but before you can change your mind I'm going to say this: he's a joke!" Caroline said, running up the stairs, feeling in need of a good hiding place.

Cuddy looked out the window, forgot about David's rudeness towards Caroline. She forgot everything. The weather had somehow invited her to pick up her coat, scarf and gloves from the hall stand. Bag in hand, she was all set. "I'm gonna go for a walk." She said, loud enough for Caroline to hear.

And House, all the way to the kitchen who said, "I need carrots, can you go pick some?"

"Sure." Cuddy said instinctively. She froze at her response.

"What?" He said, storming out of the kitchen. "The hell was that?" He added but noticed she was already gone.

The town of Colchester, west of the city of Hartford, Connecticut was fully covered in snow. Having a wedding in December seemed completely ludicrous to Cuddy but she would not complain about the snow. The New England born Cuddy had declared a passion for Christmas time since she was a kid. She liked her winter weather cold yet static for wind belonged to autumn, having swept the leaves off the tree branches. Twigs and shrubs or rather what was left of them were buried under the snow. It was her favorite season, peaceful, beautiful. It was everything her life wasn't. It was the only time of the year she could appease her mind in the comfort of nature. By the end of the month, she would get to see her daughter who just turned six open her presents with unadulterated happiness. The 1rst of December was the birth date Child Services had given to little Rachel, sending the foster parent Lisa Cuddy straight to cloud nine. The countryside was the best place to enjoy both Hannuka and Christmas, in her opinion. But for fifteen years, work had prevented her from enjoying such bliss in Princeton. She would not even leave the city for a few days. Cuddy had no real desire to go to her parents' home by the time she had turned thirty anyway. The force of nature that was Arlene Cuddy would always find a way to invite her friends and at least one of their handsome and successful Jewish sons. "Where's your sense of community?" She would say over the phone, every year, "A beautiful woman like you, dying an old spinster!" Cuddy always appreciated the compliment until the punch line. Then she would automatically hang up and not call her mother back until January. As a kid, Cuddy would run straight for the bathroom having no willpower to confront her mother when she was undermining her every move, albeit successful. She managed to do it once – when her mother was at the hospital – but it was him who had given her that power.

She never got the real confrontation she wanted for he was charged with attempted murder. Because that's what it was. _He pled guilty_, her lawyer had told her. But the hairbrush was not an enigma. Hurt beyond repair or not, House had no right to pull this death-threatening stunt. Correct or not, the charges were what they were. And at the time, she had every reason to accuse him of such a crime. She looked at the whiteness beneath her shoes and saw the past. The emptiness she had felt back then went straight to her heart.

_Was there any indication that something would happen?_ The police officer had asked.

_Yeah! Every moment I've spent with him. 'Was always waiting for something to happen. But this…_ She had said. Even now she could not believe it still. She had filed the charges and got her wish, he had been to jail. Cuddy rapidly switched this trail of thought off; the past was hurting her more than the present. In spite of her desire to stop thinking altogether, her mind solicited different times. Days, weeks, months and years she thought endless came to pass. These flashes of memories brought her back to the feeling of hopefulness she had an agreement with before the incident.

For those last fifteen years, not one winter passed without her hoping she would invite Dr. Gregory House over to her place. Misery loves company she would tell herself. She knew she was just as lonely as he was. Walking in the middle of the road, feeling protected by the ranges of trees on each side, she remembered all those missed opportunities. Not even their eight months relationship could make up for it all. She always had to work. Her work always came first but he knew what she really needed. And every single time she would reschedule. In the end, nothing happened. She never allowed herself to live her life completely.

She couldn't believe what she had said. The request was, without a doubt, addressed to Caroline and even though he knew she would hear it, she fiercely believed he could not have expected this answer. It scared her to see that after practically three years, she could still hear his voice, make out his words and not call the police in a heartbeat. The part where she agrees to his demand seemed even more sinful to her. He had asked so nicely. It felt unreal yet familiar.

She had walked about a mile when she reached a small grocery store. To buy or not to buy the carrots? Shakespeare wouldn't even know the answer to that, so why bother asking, she thought.

Meanwhile, House went back to the kitchen and tried to focus on his cooking. But in order to surpass himself with his Spicy Carrot and Coriander Soup, he needed carrots. Carrots he had indirectly asked Cuddy to buy moments ago. Her answer had sent shivers down his spine.

He heard someone cough behind him. House turned over and saw David. "Listen, man. I just spoke with Caroline and she said I should give you a chance. She doesn't want the week to go to waste. And, after all, Lizzy is giving you one, so why shouldn't I?" He said with a boyish grin which showed off his uneasiness.

"Okay." House shrugged, trying to erase from his mind the man's remark on Cuddy.

"Okay… great! So… I'm David, David Feldman. Nice to meet you Dr. House." He said and went to shake House's hand.

"Call me Greg." The taller man said, accepting the handshake.

"Wow, what a firm grip!" David said, turning red.

"You're not gay, are you?" House asked.

"No… It just… Okay, done with the handshake." David said, removing his hand. "Remind me never to shake hands with you again."

"Sorry. Jail arm wrestling contests do that to you." House said, smiling internally.

David did not look impressed though and said "Anyway, how is it at Saint Francis Hospital? Is the chef of staff treating you good?"

"What are you?" House asked, suspicious.

"Director of onsite inspections for the FSMB." David admitted.

"Federation of State Medical Boards, woah! Cuddy really went down a notch!" He retorted, unafraid.

"Guilty as charged." David said, unimpressed either. The two men seemed stuck in an awkward silence until House broke it.

"There's actually this physician guy at the hospital I'd like to report to you. Do you like pool?" House asked, taking David by surprise.

"Sure." He said.

"Great! With your girlfriend out running my errands, looks like we got some time to kill." House said, limping in the direction of the utility room.

A disturbed David followed the man with the cane.

About an hour later, Cuddy rang her friend's doorbell. "Carry?" She called. Caroline opened the door within seconds.

"Damnit Lisa! What are you doing with that bag of groceries?" Caroline asked, helping her friend out.

"I thought I'd pick some stuff." She said and then added, "And I bought Tequila for the necessary reunion."

"Do we really have to…?" Caroline asked, in distress.

"I need it and so do you. In fact, we, as a pair, need it." Cuddy remarked. Caroline could only agree.

The utility room burst open, revealing David and House in a surprising friendly conversation.

"I'm telling you this guy, sneaks at night in the children ward! He says it's for the nurses but he looks way too ugly to be telling the truth." House said, extravagantly between compliments, "Nice pool skills by the way."

"Obviously" The other man agreed. "I'll look into it. And thank you. You beat me five times to one but thank you nevertheless." David said. He looked quite proud of himself.

Then House froze on the spot when he saw Cuddy was back. "You've ran errands." He rapidly stated in a stern voice.

"In fact, I did." She said. Her smile was one persuasive fraud, House thought. "I've brought you some cauliflowers."

"I'm allergic to cauliflowers." He stated.

"Oh, I'm sorry." Cuddy said, proud of herself.

"Do you understand what's going on?" David asked Caroline in a low voice.

"I have no idea." She admitted and went to the kitchen with the food bags.

"How did you know?" House asked Cuddy.

"About your legendary soup? Come on House, haven't you learned new recipes in jail?" Cuddy answered him.

This told him everything he needed to know. She wouldn't play nice. Not even let him cook her favorite dish.

"You know there aren't cooking classes in prison, right?" House said, avoiding the confrontation she wanted at all costs.

"Guys, it's okay, I'm gonna order pizzas." Caroline said from the kitchen threshold.

"Good idea." David said. "Greg, let's go play some darts. I want to hear more about that pedophile."

House nodded. This would lead them nowhere, not that he wanted to go anywhere. He followed David to the utility room. Cuddy sighed and eventually sat down on the couch.

Caroline joined her friend in the living room. "Lisa… seriously? What were you trying to accomplish." She said but Cuddy remained silent. "Extra mushrooms, extra carrots?" Caroline asked, out of nowhere.

Cuddy smiled, mentally thanking her friend for trying to cheer her up with pizza talk.

The pizzas were delivered around eight. Neither House nor Cuddy was particularly excited about having dinner together but they joined David and Caroline anyway.

"I hear the pediatric ward is very busy with work at Saint Francis, Caroline." David stated, politely.

"Indeed. A severe case of gastroenteritis is spreading through Hartford and the vicinity." She answered, "I keep trying to reassure Greg about his last patient – a pregnant woman."

"She doesn't have gastroenteritis." He cut in. Cuddy stopped staring at her plate, tilted her head back and gauged the diagnostician's reaction.

"She was discharged today, House. She'll be fine." Caroline said, taking another bite of her pizza.

"I was against it." House replied.

"Anyway, we both took this week off. Well, I did because of Em's wedding and Greg used my leave as an excuse to avoid clinic duty." Caroline admitted.

"Typical." Cuddy coughed.

"So… What about you Dr. Cuddy?" House stressed the doctor part. "Are you still doing paperwork or did you get back in the game?" He inquired, happy to counterattack.

"Why Dr. House? Do you need tips on blackmailing your new Dean or managing your mood swings?" Cuddy quipped.

"Saint Francis is not a teaching hospital. The place is Dean-free." House retorted.

"She's back to being a full-time doctor. She's the head endocrinologist now!" David said proudly. House noticed Cuddy did not seem too happy he had shared this information.

"In what twisted hospital could she be considered the best doctor in her field?" House asked David.

David was about to fall for it when Cuddy cut him off.

"Like I'm gonna tell you where I live." She said, firmly.

"No problem, I'll just check your license plate."

"I've changed cars, not my license plate. Sorry." She said.

House was about to retort when his phone rang. He picked up his cell and said, "Yeah… hmm…no, middle of dinner… hmm… I knew it… I'll be right in."

Cuddy watched him intensely.

"Greg! This is your week off." Caroline said.

"Sorry, babe but my pregnant woman's dying." He said, kissed her on the forehead and fumbled in his pockets for his car keys.

"Oh God…When will you be back?" Caroline called after him.

"I don't know. Late." He said and exited the house.

"I hate it when that happens." Caroline said after several minutes.

Cuddy thought the exact opposite and blamed her pathetic self.

David, Caroline and Cuddy spent the rest of the night discussing in the living room. After too many tequila shots to count, David bid the ladies goodnight.

"See you later, Lizzy." David said, giving Cuddy a small peck on the lips and left.

"One last shot?" Cuddy offered.

"Are you trying to get into my pants?" Caroline suggested.

"Didn't know our friendship was heading this way." Cuddy laughed and added, "Nah, just your head Carry, and try to make you forget about House."

"Oh! Well, cheers!" Caroline brought the shot to her lips. They both tapped three times on the table and gulped the spirit.

They remained silent for a few minutes. Caroline was the one to break it.

"If it hadn't been for him, I would have been raped you know."

"Oh thank God." Cuddy said, closing her eyes.

"It sounds less dramatic now I guess." Caroline said.

"Honey, no… I didn't mean it that way." Cuddy added quickly, ashamed of her reaction.

"I know…" Caroline said, taking her friend's hand in hers. "I don't know if you've noticed but in the last six months, you've been talking about Greg a lot more. It's because I made you. I wanted to talk about him because… His face was the last thing I saw before I fainted that night. The second time I saw his face was when I woke up at the hospital."

"I get it now." Cuddy said, "But if this is your way of saying I shouldn't be too harsh on him, I –"

Caroline cut her off, "No, I just needed you to know. I won't tell you how to act around him. My situation is the complete opposite of yours. It wouldn't be fair to you."

"Thank you." Cuddy said, suddenly looking tipsier.

"You know what? I thought I could act like a 20-something and talk all night long with you but I'm exhausted."

"Stop bullshiting me, I know you're waiting for House." Cuddy smirked.

"No I…"

"Come on. You were like this with James Whitehouse during your last year at UMich." Cuddy said.

"Okay, maybe a bit."

"Now that I think of it, you transferred to Johns Hopkins the same year Em did. Did you meet House while you were there?" Cuddy wondered.

"Yes, I knew him. But I also knew that you had been pretty interested in him so –"

But Cuddy cut her off, "Yeah, 'twasn't such a good idea to talk about that."

"Greg told me everything!" Caroline quipped.

"He did WHAT?" Cuddy asked.

"Relax, Lisa, I'm kidding. Greg doesn't talk about you much." She finally said and got off the couch, "You're coming?" Indicating it was time for bed for Cuddy as well.

Caroline's words affected Cuddy right away. Staring at nothing in particular, she sank deeper into the couch. "Cuddy" She heard Caroline call her once more.

"Yeah… just a minute." She said.

"Don't forget to turn the lights off." Caroline said, going upstairs.

Around four in the morning, House came back home and to his surprise all the lights were on. Cuddy was sleeping on the couch. He observed her a moment. Trying not to wake her up, he walked around the living room and got a blanket from the dresser. He limped back to the couch and put the blanket on her. He stared at her sleeping form and moved his head closer to hers. Inevitably inhaling her scent and dazzled by the memories it triggered, he whispered softly to her, "Hello, Dr. Cuddy." He brought his mouth to her forehead but did nothing of it for he then took notice of his self-indulging cheesiness and said "Goodnight Cuddy." instead.

House turned the lights off, tip-toed upstairs and retreated to the master bedroom. She was out of sight by then yet very much close to his heart.


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's note:** Sorry for the long wait, again loads of uni homework and now, it's the holidays you know! I may upload another chapter for xmas or NYE, I dunno, we'll see. Depends on what you think of this chapter. This one was in fact, pretty hard to write. I understand it perfectly but you may not. I hope you will because then again, it's pretty twisted. Just a reminder, this story WILL have a happy ending and technically the end of this chapter is a clue to that.

Now on the beta thing. I know I don't use one, it's clearly an issue and I'm sorry. I will try to ask my beta-friends. For this chapter, I didn't use a beta either because it's the holidays and I can't be bothered with that really. I mean no disrespect in doing so, I just hope this chapter won't be too awful to read.

Anyway, thanks to all of you who read and review this story. Keep doing that, it's awesome. Reviews are what make me keep on writing. :)

* * *

><p>Chapter 5:<p>

David and Lisa -save for their first night, occupied the bedroom across from the master of the house's. The master who was, as Cuddy discovered the following day, none other than Caroline.

"Lisa... wake up." Caroline brought a cup of coffee under her friend's nose. Cuddy's nostrils had been tyrannized by the eternally glorious coffee smell. Sniffing a couple more times, she tentatively rose up from her sleeping position and snatched the cup from Caroline.

"Damn! And me who thought you were a morning person!" Caroline snickered, not disconcerted in the least by her friend's behavior.

"Sorry. I guess the couch wasn't as comfortable as I thought it was when I drifted into a alcohol-induced slumber last night." Cuddy said, sipping her coffee.

"For you to form such a concise sentence first thing in the morning, I would take a guess and say you weren't that drunk." Carry laughed.

"That's a very wild guess," Cuddy smiled back. "I'm not as dumb as House makes me out to be."

"Ha! Now I know what's been on your mind for the past minute." Caroline retorted.

"Not your boyfriend, trust me. He's just a means to an end: prevent other topics to stem from the one about my fine speech." Cuddy said, giving her friend a glare.

"I get it, Lisa. I really do. Out of the blue, I let this man back into your life again." Caroline paused, searching for her words, "And you know as well as I do that House is with intellectual self-importance. If he tries to ruin our week, I'll send him to Guantanamo this time. You got my word on that." She winked at her friend who couldn't help but laugh at the idea that House was according to his most stable relationship in years, worse than a terrorist. "I'll just make sure you guys have as little time to spend together as possible."

"Thanks. Did you rehearse that while making me coffee?" Cuddy eyed her friend suspiciously, given the warm cup in her hand.

"Nope. When House came back from the hospital last night, he purposefully woke me up to tell me he wanted his couch endocrinologist-free tomorrow to watch Monster Trucks."

"What a thoughtful attention." Cuddy rolled her eyes.

"Nah, I know he was feeling blue somehow. He needed the talk." Caroline said, "His patient died last night. I don't know, I think, seeing you passed out on the couch last night made him feel better somehow."

"What do you mean?" Cuddy asked, an inexplicable pang in her chest having set in.

"Like... that you stayed -despite the fact that he's here with me... and here to stay- means something positive to him, I think."

Not in the least taken aback by her friend's will to make everything right, Cuddy waged option number one which was to let her own feelings be known against option number two, to indulge her on what can only be expected from her former friend, employee and lover.

"Whatever good there is in him, what scares me is not what he thinks. It's what he says or does that's dangerous and extremely unpredictable." Cuddy said and added without leaving her friend time to interrupt her, "And I mean no disrespect to your relationship with him when I say that, but if there is one thing I know about House, it's that he hates the past as much as he hates change. And I've always been right in the middle of it. The future does not exist for him."

"I can't say you're wrong." Caroline said, understanding that this was her cue to stop trying to fix things and finally added, jocking, " It's not like we make millions of plans besides when to pick Thai food night every other week. This is still my house! I can still decide when I want to eat healthy!"

Cuddy let a tiny smile escape her lips. "I'm such a bad friend." Lisa admitted, feeling bad for going with the second option.

"To the bride to be? Damn straight you are!" Caroline remarked, tapping her foot. "Em's gonna kill you ... and me, actually, if we don't hurry and move our bombastic asses to her place."

Cuddy gave her a bad imitation of the army salute. Caroline rolled her eyes and dragged her off the couch, leaving the quasi-emptied cup on the coffee table.

For House, the day went by without any incident. The women were as far away from him as possible. Down the road, really. But that was far enough. No babbling over how many male strippers they should hire for Em's bachelorette party or if the blue of the maids' dresses is too light. And David had decided to go run some errands because besides pool and darts, he was indeed, not much of a man to House. The guy didn't like Monster Trucks. The ultimate representation of manhood. The only event that kept women at bay. Except for a small toddler he used to know. He did not want to go there again and thought it was for the best. To him, Cuddy didn't deserve to know. She would never get to know the half of it. House grabbed his vicodin prescription from his pocket jeans, opened what could be considered his longest relationship to date -an orange bottle he used to pop like tic-tacs- and swallowed one pill with a glass of water. And the day was over.

Communication or lack therefore did not seem to be a problem under Caroline's roof. Dinner went by as smoothly as one would have expected. The two parties under scrutiny did not really address each other for, most of the time, it was Cuddy who would ask David and House a common question. The former would steer a course through more questions while the latter would keep on deflecting.

"So how was your day?"

"It was good. Monster Trucks' not really my cup of tea but House has been quite the gentleman about it. But what about you? Was Emily happy to see you? She must have been. Who wouldn't be!" David would ramble.

"Cup of tea... really?" House quoted David ironically. "Doth thou hath to speak so eloquently to feel like a man?"

David let it slide for the man had been prepped by his girlfriend. And he needed a darts buddy.

Cuddy discussed the matter further though, "Says the man who can't keep his trap shut."

"You asked a question. I merely launched debate. It's hip to be square." House stated and shrugged.

As palpable as the tension was, everyone managed to keep a low profile or rather, both House and Cuddy let their respective partner discuss the wedding and the use of cheesecake for alleviating the issue of a day in the life of one's significant other.

Cuddy couldn't sleep. Practically sprawled over her was David, snoring. And Huey Lewis's _The__ Power__ of__ Love_ was playing in her head. Or in the adjacent bedroom. She didn't know if it was due to her inability to drink enough alcohol at dinner or if it had to do with House being in another room, with another woman, her best friend and that their -most probable- muffled fornication was making her sick. Or making her jealous.

They used to make love to that song. Maybe she was imagining this. She realized she was for the music had suddenly stopped. The music had been playing in her head all along, preventing her from sleeping and making her sound desperate to her own ears. There was no sound but David's breathing and her own. She realized she needed some space, some room to breathe. She disentangled herself from David with acute precision, put her robe on and left the guest room.

Guided by the light of the full moon coming from the window opposite the stairs, she followed the semi-dark corridor to the stairs and headed for the kitchen. Someone was in there for the lights were on. Bent over in front of the opened fridge, House was looking for something to satiate himself. The song started again. Those were his pants, she could recognize those anywhere. White and blue stripes. As he stood up straight, the song in her head started again. His bare chest reminded her of brighter days. She had been attracted to this man not only for his brains, she remembered, but his height, his broad shoulders, his amazing biceps and abs although they had faded with age. Lisa Cuddy was too absorbed into the sight before her to realize she was trespassing her own boundaries.

"Are you insane? Sneaking up on me like that!" House let out, clearly frightened. The song in her head stopped around "That's the power of love" and Cuddy saw his scared face.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to scare you. I just needed some water-"

"Don't care." He said, harshly, "Did you enjoy the view?" He added with a voice as monotonous as humanly possible.

Momentarily shocked, Cuddy lost her tongue. Her slow motion sequence from a minute ago which had awaken feelings she had been fighting against ever since he drove his car into her living-room had been abruptly stopped. She watched him as he was looking her in the eye. He must have blinked once before he shut the fridge door. The look on his face softened a bit as he licked his lips; a sign he was analyzing everything from her presence, his part in the situation to her reaction. He then limped by her, face down, as fast as his damaged leg could take him.

She went after him. "If I recall correctly, legally speaking, I should be the uncivil one." She said.

He stopped dead in his track. Turning around, he said, diverting his gaze from her face, "It's a team effort and you're not playing your part."

"And of course, this mise-en-scène only applies to me." She replied, matter-of-factly.

"Do you see any other victim in this house?" He said, angrily.

"Carry is a victim, you may not have tried to hurt her physically -and God only knows why... you saved her in one of your rare moments of sanity but in the long run, I'm scared of what might happen to her." She admitted.

"I tried to kill you, remember? You and I should both know where we stand and leave Caroline out of this." He went to stand directly in front of her, threatening her through her personal space.

"So you admit you tried to kill me!" She held his menacing gaze.

"I admit to what you want to hear." He said. "Like I said, I'm doing what's best here."

"What do you mean, what's best?" She asked, "You think that being a jackass-"

"Take a good look at yourself right now. You're fraternizing with the enemy. I am your enemy Cuddy. Yet, you're looking for a connection of some sort; asking me about my day at dinner, pulled a prank yesterday. Basically you want a confrontation." He said, focused.

"Looks like I'm having it right now." She said, trying to keep her head screwed on right.

"What you don't understand is that I don't care."

"How can you say this is what I want to hear."

"If it's not, then, tell me why you didn't go to the trial!" He said.

"Because I didn't want to see... hear you say you were sorry!" She yelled and covered her mouth with her hand as she noticed the volume of her voice.

"You've read the report, right?" He said and she nodded, small tears escaping her eyes. "Did I say I was?"

"No." She acknowledged.

He took a deep breath and said, "There. Cuddy. You got your answer."

"This can't be it." She said as if realization had hit her for the first time in years.

"Sorry, Cuddy." He said and she could tell he sounded resigned.

"Stop talking!" She said, her face inches from his, "Stop calculating your every move! Just, look me in the eye. Ugh... Nothing makes sense anymore."

He held her gaze for a while before he turned to the wall and turned the light switch off.

"You're not asking the right questions."

"So this is my fault?" She asked, ardently.

"No", he replied, firmly

They stood there in the dark, if he had left she wouldn't have been able to notice. But he had not moved for his breathing seemed closer. The silence had been deafening. His words eventually broke her uneasiness, "I can't give you closure, Cuddy." He said softly and added, "All I can give you is this, the knowledge that I'm currently in a stable relationship and that I have moved on this time. I can assure you that I don't want to go back to prison or the loony bin. That I'm okay and that I will do you no harm. I take one vicodin a day and I try to use my cane as little as I can. I don't expect you to understand these changes, to accept my relationship with Caroline or to be happy for me. I don't deserve that; but I need you to... "He couldn't help but search for his words which gave way for Cuddy to make her own statement.

"You need me to accept that you're a changed man?" She concluded angrily. She definitely couldn't fathom that idea.

"I need you to let it go." He stated and he put his hand to her face.

Cuddy refrained from slapping his hand away and instead, took the feel of him. His warm palm melted her anger away slightly. She hated his power over her.

"Take your hand off my face." Cuddy said, a tear slipping away.

"No." He said. "All I did, I did it for you."

"You're insane." She said, clearly dumbfounded by his words. How could someone do what he did if it were not to hurt... "You mean you HAD to risk hurting me? Did you forget that my daughter was there too? My sister-"

"If I say collateral damage, you will kill me so I'll just say this: I'm the bad guy here. Don't you ever forget that." He cut her off, sighing.

"Why do you keep doing this?" She asked, bewildered to the utmost level.

He pulled his hand away and asked, angrily, "No, why do you keep doing this?"

"I... I-" She tried, not knowing where this was going again.

"Are you trying to find excuses for my actions?" He practically yelled.

"YES." She admitted. Cuddy gasped for she couldn't believe her own answer.

"Why?" He asked, the tone of his voice was low and possibly pleading.

"Because right now, even though I can only hear your voice, I can tell you are hurt." She said, confident.

"The thing is, Cuddy, you broke my heart and I drove a car into your house." He said, sternly and then added, "I drove a car into your house and broke your heart. Do the math, here. I don't deserve your forgiveness and I don't want it."

And with that, he left her in the dark living room. His last sentence might have come as a shock but the part before reached a whole different level to Cuddy. He wanted her to let go of him, to stop caring enough in order to stop hurting. To forget he ever was a good man. House had always been childish but going to that extreme seemed thought out rather than impulsive suddenly. It must have been a bit of both. Prior to this moment, she had been indifferent to the meaning of hurting. Her knees started to fail her. She fell to the floor and cried, hurting over their dysfunctional affection for one another for the first time.

As he slipped into his bed, making sure he would not wake Caroline, he cursed himself internally for giving the smartest woman he knew the answer to the most important question in approximately two decades: why he did what he did.

He did it for both their sakes. But that is just rationalization talking. Therefore, he did not want to go 'there' again.

The following morning, Cuddy made breakfast. "Pancakes for everyone", she said and specifically added, ""including House."

"Why the nice gesture?" He asked, arching an eyebrow.

"Don't start now, Greg." Caroline warned him.

"Collateral damage, doctor. Just collateral damage." She said and turned the speakers in the kitchen on. The first notes to The Power of Love had House's heart jump a mile.

David couldn't believe his girlfriend had reduced the master of deflective speech to silence.

Caroline high fived her best friend and they started to move to the beat. House couldn't help but send a small smile their way.

* * *

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